Harshkumar Patel asked the US court to overturn his conviction
A US court has been asked to overturn the conviction and sentence of Harshkumar Patel, a man convicted in a human smuggling case linked to the freezing deaths of an Indian family of four near the Manitoba-Minnesota border in 2022.Patel was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. He filed an appeal, arguing that legal errors affected his trial. According to court documents filed with the US Court of Appeals, he is now representing himself after raising concerns about his attorney last year.The filing claims there were problems with how the jury was instructed and how the verdict was applied. Patel asked the court to overturn his conviction on all charges or to dismiss specific charges and remand the case for retrial.Patel and co-defendant Steve Shand were convicted in November 2024 by a federal jury in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Jurors took less than 90 minutes before convicting the two men on multiple charges related to illegally bringing immigrants into the United States, transporting them, and profiting from the operation.The case dates back to a tragic incident in January 2022, when a family from Gujarat froze to death while trying to cross on foot from Manitoba to Minnesota during a severe snowstorm.
The victims are 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his 37-year-old wife Vaishali, their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi, and their three-year-old son Dharmik. Their bodies were later found in a snow-covered field about 12 meters from the US border.Temperatures that night dropped to -23°C, while cold winds brought conditions closer to -35 to -38°C. The family walked for hours in deep snow wearing minimal clothing before slowly dying of the cold.Patel was identified as the organizer of the smuggling network that hired Shand, a Florida resident, to transport migrants after they crossed into the United States. Chand was arrested the same night near the Minnesota border after being found in a truck stuck in the snow with other Indian nationals. He was later sentenced to six and a half years in prison, followed by supervised release.Separately, Shand also moved the Court of Appeal seeking to overturn his conviction and sentence handed down last month.
His filing argues that the traffic stop that led to his arrest was illegal and challenges the sentencing decisions, particularly the finding that he was responsible for the death of the Indian family who died while crossing through the snow.It also states that Shand “was unaware of the matter and was powerless to control it.” [human smuggling operation] The commander’s decision to cross a family with young children in unsuitable weather conditions.”A judge had previously rejected requests to acquit or order a retrial in April 2025, considering that the evidence against the two men was sufficient.
